


Together We're Bound to Fly

by orphan_account



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Barebacking, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, M/M, semi graphic description of wounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-27 22:37:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2709227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scott and Stiles spent all their savings to buy a ramshackle little ship and are now some of the best traders... well, smugglers in their part of the galaxy. They have direct competition with Derek Hale and his crew. Actually, Scott and Stiles are pretty sure he thinks of them as brats that followed his lead to take a ship and get the hell off their home colony.</p><p>With the galaxy on the brink of rebellion, Scott and Stiles have to decide if they're going to get involved or stay on the sidelines. Scott is badly injured on an important cargo run when they're ambushed by another rival group and Derek ends up being the one person who can save his life. Afterwards, there's an uneasy true between Scott and Stiles' ship and Derek's, so they can track down the ambushers and get their cargo back. Along the way, Stiles tries to work out the feelings for Derek everyone keeps telling him he has.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Together We're Bound to Fly

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the teenwolf_bb hosted on livejournal.
> 
> I had a strong desire for a star wars-y type fic with Scott and Stiles as a smuggling team. It's its own universe and I shamelessly lifted elements from both Star Wars and Star Trek in terms of sci-fic technology.
> 
> I had an absolute blast writing this and hopefully it's a fun read. Thanks so much to J for the beta and making it a zillion times better (is that the same note that I wrote last big bang? :D).
> 
> Title taken from the song "Written in the Stars" by Westlife. Because I am a gigantic cheeseball.
> 
> Please check out the fanmix that BlindingLights/darkenednights created for this story located here: [here](http://darkenednights.tumblr.com/post/104275735869/mix-for-together-were-bound-to-fly-listen)

Another blast from an energy weapon shook the ship violently, and Stiles had to scramble for purchase. His hands slipped on on the sleek metal of the bulkhead, and he went down hard onto his knees.

“Dammit!” Stiles cursed as his knees connected hard onto the deck plates. He waited a moment for the pain to recede before he pushed himself upright, yanking his comm out of his pocket as he did. “Scott!” he bellowed, “Can you try to avoid getting us blown into tiny pieces?”

 _ **“Easier said than done,”**_ Scott said, voice tinny as it came through the crappy speaker. _**“Two more ships just jumped on our tail.”**_

“Keep them off us for a few more minutes,” Stiles said as he clambered down the small ladder leading to the engine room. “I gotta get the hyperdrive online.”

 _ **“I still cannot believe you talked me into buying this piece of junk,”**_ Scott moaned. _**“That hyperdrive is offline more often than on.”**_

Stiles jumped off of the ladder and brought the comm right up to his lips. “Bite me, Scotty boy.”

Stiles grinned at Scott’s burst of laughter, and shoved the comm back into his pocket so he could get to work. He ran his hands over the primary control for propulsion, and noted that it looked like several of the power relays had fused together. “Piece of cake,” he muttered, fingers dancing over the controls as manually bypassed them. After a few moments, he whooped gleefully as the engine pulsed back to life. 

A few seconds later he felt the familiar lurch as the ship made the jump to faster than light speed. He patted the control panel affectionately, murmuring, “good job, baby,” before heading back to the ladder.

When Stiles entered the tiny cockpit, he dropped his hands onto Scott’s shoulders, squeezing them lightly. “Any sign of pursuit?”

“Not a one.They must not have cared too much about the ore.”

Stiles sprawled into the battered copilot’s seat with a laugh. “It’s a miniscule fraction of their stock. They just thought it’d be easy to rip us off instead of sticking to their trade agreement.”

Scott continued moving his fingers deftly over the controls before leaning back in his seat. “When are you going to start listening to me when I say we shouldn’t make deals with criminals?”

Stiles snorted with laughter and patted Scott on shoulder. “Scott... we’re smugglers. According to most authorities, _we’re_ criminals.”

“We’re traders, Stiles!” Scott protested. “And we’re honest... mostly.”

Stiles pursed his lips. “And that batch of food and medical supplies we snuck into the colony on Ureius? That was totally an honest endeavor, right?”

Scott whirled to face him in his chair, indignant. “That was completely different! They needed those supplies, especially with the blockade the Guild put on the colony.”

“You don’t have to convince me, Scott, I’m just teasing you.” Scott smacked him on the arm and Stiles laughed. “Truth is, sometimes I feel a little guilty about what we do. And about the fact that I’m the one who convinced you to blow our life savings on this ship in the first place.” Stiles rubbed his hand over his face, patches of stubble rough on his palm. “I don’t know how my dad would feel about this if he were alive.”

“Honestly, I don’t think he’d be that surprised.” Scott said. “How many times did he catch us planning this when we were kids?” 

“Yeah, but did he ever think we would actually do it?”

Scott put his arm around Stiles’ shoulder. “You’re one of the best men I know, Stiles. Your dad would be proud of you.”

Stiles didn’t quite share Scott’s optimism as to how a lawman in the Galactic Hunter’s Guild would view his son becoming a smug... trader. But after his death two years ago, Stiles knew he had to do something, get away from his home colony of Beacon Hills before the ghosts of his family overwhelmed him. He just thanked the stars every day that Scott had agreed to come with him. They’d barely spent more than a day apart in their lives, and Stiles didn’t know what he’d do without him.

“Thanks, Scott.” Stiles surreptitiously swiped a hand over his eyes and cleared his throat. “So, what’s the damage report?”

Scott brought a readout up onto the viewscreen embedded in the control panel. “Not too bad. It was only that first pot shot that did anything. There are a couple fused relays and some minor hull damage, but nothing we can’t handle until we can make repairs.” He tapped a few controls. “I set a course for Lokusa station, and we can hole up there.”

Stiles yawned and rubbed at his eyes, thinking. “When we get there, I could find Danny. He should be able to help us unload some of this ore and maybe stock up on supplies too.”

Scott stood up and held out his hand, pulling Stiles to his feet. “Works for me. Now why don’t you go get some sleep? I set auto-nav, and we’ve got about a day’s trip to Lokusa. I’ll see what repairs I can start on the way.”

“You’re the best, buddy.” They walked out of the cockpit and headed down the narrow corridor. “I’m just going to make sure the cargo is locked down, then I’m hitting my bunk.” 

 

“No problem,” Scott said.

When Stiles finally made it to the cargo hold at the back of the ship he frowned, glancing around at the sensory lights which were already on. He shrugged. _Probably more damaged relays_. 

Stiles did a quick count of all the containers and when he was satisfied , he turned to leave. 

“What the hell?” Stiles muttered, stopping abruptly when he heard a chittering sound coming from the back of the hold. He crept towards the noise, and then flailed backwards, losing his balance and falling hard on his ass when a blur of gray fur came rocketing out at him.

“What the hell is going on?” Scott said, rushing into the hold, obviously worried at all the racket. He stopped when he saw Stiles on the ground, and raised his eyebrows in question.

Stiles got to his feet and rubbed at his aching backside. “We’ve got a stowaway. I didn’t really see the bastard, but I think it’s a cargo rat.”

“Really? We’ve never had one of those before!”

Stiles shot Scott an incredulous look. “Are you actually excited by this?”

Scott was already poking his head around, listening for noise. “Think about it Stiles, a species that’s found exclusively in space, hopping from ship to ship. It’s pretty neat.”

 _“Neat?”_ Stiles shook his head, boggling. “We’re talking about vermin, here.”

“That’s a misconception, actually. And biologically speaking, they’re more of a primate than a rodent.”

Stiles sighed and rubbed at his face tiredly. “Fascinating stuff, Scott. Can I go to bed now?”

“Go on,” Scott said, and then his eyes widened minutely. Stiles felt a tugging on his tunic and looked down to see a tiny creature industriously climbing the sleeve. It was only about six inches long, not counting it’s extremely long tail. It had tiny flaps of ears that twitced continuously. It’s large, violet eyes were trained on Stiles’ face and when it saw him looking, it clambered up to his shoulder and perched there, pawing at his hair with tiny, three-fingered hands.

Stiles turned back to Scott, speechless. Scott looked ready to start cooing, so Stiles gently grabbed the tiny thing and carried it over to Scott while it gibbered. He handed it over and said, “Do what you want with this thing. I’m fried.” He turned and headed for the doors, but not before he heard Scott telling it how cute it was.

~~~~

Stiles turned over in his bunk, blearily wondering what had woken him. The ship felt like it was running smoothly, the engines a constant reassuring hum. Stiles decided that all was fine and he hadn’t slept nearly long enough, so he burrowed deeper under the covers. He cracked open an eye when he heard a small whuff and felt a puff of air hit him in the face. The cargo rat was curled up into a ball on his pillow, sleeping. Stiles tilted his head up and wrinkled his brow in consternation.

“Really, Scott?” he muttered. 

The tiny creature opened its eyes and yawned. To tired to care much, Stiles laid his head back down. He couldn't help his soft huff of laughter when the movement just prompted the creature to scrabble closer, snuggling into his neck and chittering contentedly. Spitting fur out of his mouth, Stiles brought his hand up to pet it. “Hmm. You are pretty cute.” Stiles closed his eyes. “I guess you can stay.”

~~~~

A few hours later, Stiles found Scott in the cockpit, his legs up on the panel and drinking from a canteen. When he heard Stiles come it, he turned and promptly spit out a mouthful of water.  
“I see you’ve bonded,” Scott said, nodding at the creature perched on Stiles’ shoulder, tail wound around his neck. Scott mopped the droplets of water off his pants, and explained “She got away from me, and I found her curled up with you. I didn’t want to disturb her.”

“Uh huh,” Stiles said as he sat down in his chair. “Anyway, I’ve decided we can keep it.”

“Her,” Scott said again, scratching behind its ears.

“How do you even know that?” Stiles asked.

“Her hands,” Scott said. “She has three fingers and a thumb. Males only have two.”

Stiles scratched at the back of his own head. “And how do you know that?”

“I remember reading about them when I helped Deaton with the animals back on the colony. There’s been observations made over the decades about their species, even if no one’s officially named them. Anyway, it shouldn’t be too hard to take care of her.” Scott picked up a data pad and waved it at Stiles. “According to our database, they’re used to living on ships, obviously. And they tend to eat what most humanoid species do, although they have a preference for fruit, which we have plenty of.”

“You hear that, Neeko?” Stiles asked her. “We’ve got some food you should like, if you’re hungry.”

“Neeko?” 

“Yeah, it’s something my dad used to call me. It’s a Strellian word that roughly translates to ‘pain in the ass’.” 

Scott snorted with laughter, and then tossed the data pad to Stiles. “Anyway, we’ve got about twelve hours to Lokusa. I was able to replace all the relays, but I want to wait to get some plating to patch the hull with at the station.”

“Sounds good to me.” Stiles said. “I was thinking about giving Lydia a call when we get there, see if she has anything new for us.”

Scott furrowed his brow. “Honestly, Stiles, I think we need a break. We’ve been doing runs non-stop for the past three months.”

“Maybe, but I’m still calling her,” Stiles said. “I never feel right staying still for too long.” 

Scott turned back to the controls and manipulated them, muttering something that sounded like _stubborn ass_ , but the corners of his lips were turned up. Stiles smiled to himself and then yelped when Neeko stuck her tongue in his ear.

~~~

The bored sounding voice of a station operator came through the ship’s comm. **_”State your vessel’s name, registration and purpose at Lokusa Station.”_**

“This is the trading vessel _Morning Star_ , registration SW1138, looking to make repairs and take on supplies.” Stiles drummed his fingers on the console, as he waited for the reply.

**_”Acknowledged. You are cleared for docking port 28. We remind you that all weapons systems are to remain powered down while you are at dock, and your persons and ship are subject to station regulations. I am transmitting to you now.”_ **

“Understood,” Stiles said as Scott maneuvered their ship closer to the massive, cylindrical station, taking care to avoid the myriad other ship’s coming and going. Scott guided the ship to their docking port and engaged the magnetic seals, before powering down most of the ship’s systems.

One the ships’ systems were on standby, Scott and Stiles headed for the airlock, their pockets full of credit vouchers. Neeko was perched on Stiles’ shoulder. He’d tried to leave her in their quarters, but she had started squealing frantically, holding his neck in a death grip. 

When they opened the docking hatch, an overwhelming variety of smells assaulted them. The mixture of food, bodies, and various perfumes was a stark contrast to the recycled air of their ship. Lokusa was one of the largest space stations in the surrounding sector, and was comprised of shops and merchants, taverns and repair bays. It also boasted a somewhat disreputable section that catered to gambling, sex and other vices. Not that Stiles ever visited that particular section. Okay, maybe once, but he’d been curious, and it wasn’t an experience he had any desire to repeat.

Stiles leaned in and put his mouth to Scott’s ear, raising his voice over the din of station goers speaking in a multitude of languages. “I’m going to see if I can find Danny. Do you want to try to get a hold of some hull plating?”

Scott nodded his head. “Sure. Why don’t we meet at that Axilian pub on level three? Three hours good for you?”

“Works for me,” Stiles said, pulling Scott in for a quick one-armed hug. Scott squeezed back briefly and headed off, winding his way through the crowds of beings intent on their own business.

Stiles reached up with one hand and gave Neeko a quick scratch behind the ears. “What do you say? Should we go find Danny?” Neeko stuck her nose in Stiles’ ear and sniffed. “I’ll take that as a yes then,” Stiles said, as he struck out in the direction of the lifts. He was careful to always keep one hand near his credit vouchers. Lokusa had it’s own security, but he’d learned the hard way that that didn’t necessarily discourage thieves and pickpockets. 

Both he and Scott were also carrying small blades in wrist sheaths, although weapons technically weren’t allowed. Most visitors to the station armed themselves for protection, just in case, despite the laws, and station security tended to turn a blind eye unless someone caused a major problem.

When Stiles finally boarded the lift headed for level six, he smiled at the young couple sharing it with him. The woman looked at Neeko and curled her lip, pulling her partner to the other side of the lift. Stiles shrugged and pulled out a small berry he’d stashed in his pocket. Neeko grabbed it eagerly and stuffed the whole thing into her mouth. When the lift stuttered to a halt the couple hurried off, muttering about vermin, much to Stiles’ amusement. 

Stiles headed in the direction of Danny’s shop, it’s lighted sign already visible. He pushed through the beaded curtain that served as a doorway and heard a muffled, “Be right with you!” from the back of the shop.

“I’m in no rush,” Stiles yelled back.

“Stiles? Is that you?” Danny said as he came out from the back room, rubbing his hands clean on a rag.

“The one and only, Danny boy,” Stiles said cheerfully. 

Danny pointed at Stiles’ shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, right,” Stiles muttered, “And this is Neeko. We found her in our cargo hold.”

“She’s cute,” Danny said and held out his hand to her. Neeko immediately grabbed it and sniffed Danny’s fingers, before letting out an impressive sneeze. Danny chuckled. “Not a fan of machine oil, I guess.”

He jerked his thumb to the back of the shop and Stiles followed him into the room that served as an informal office. Danny gestured to one of the metal chairs, before dropping into his own seat behind a desk piled with data pads. Stiles sat down and Neeko leapt off his shoulder, making a quick circuit of the room before scrambling up to her perch again and wrapping her tail around Stiles’ neck.

Danny smirked as he watched her antics. “So, what brings you to Lokusa this time?”

“Some minor repairs,” Stiles said. “We traded for some viridium ore, and the miners tried to screw us over.”

Danny snorted. “Well, if Scott’s piloting is half as good as you’re always telling me, I’m guessing you got off light.”

“Well, you guess right, and now I was hoping you could help me unload my hold full of ore. Maybe let me restock our supplies, while we’re here.”

Danny picked up one of the data pads and starting tapping it. “How much ore are we talking?”

“About two kilotons.” 

Danny whistled. “I’m surprised you could get your hyperdrive to work, that much weight dragging down that tiny ship of yours.”

“I take good care of her. She gets it done.” Stiles didn’t even try to keep the pride out of his voice as he settled back in his chair and smirked.

“Be more smug, why don’t you...” Danny grumbled and Stiles laughed. “One of these days, Stilinski, don’t be shocked if your luck runs out.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Stiles said, waving a hand in dismissal. “With Scott’s piloting, my engineering skills and you here to keep us supplied and in top shape, we’re good.”

“Glad to help,” Danny said wryly and finished tapping into his pad. “I shouldn’t have any trouble finding buyers for the ore, and I have room to spare in one of my storage units.”

“Great,” Stiles said. “What about some supplies?”

Danny dropped the pad and leaned back in his chair. “Get me a list of what you need. I can round it up by tomorrow and take it out of whatever I get for the ore.”

Stiles leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. “And your take?”

“Twenty percent,” Danny said after some consideration. 

“Ten,” Stiles immediately shot back with. 

“Eighteen.”

“I thought we were friends,” Stiles deadpanned.

Danny threw up his hands in exasperation. “Fine, Stilinski. Fifteen percent and I’ll get you prime prices on your supplies.”

Stiles grinned. “You got a deal.” He held out his hand and Danny dropped another data pad into it. Stiles started tapping out their list of supplies. “By the way,” he said off-handedly. “I have another favor to ask.”

“The mind reels,” Danny said, rubbing his hand over his face. “What do you need?”

“Do you still have a secure holo-com transmitter?” Stiles asked.

Danny raised an eyebrow. “Lydia?”

“Hey, she hasn’t steered me wrong yet.”

“One of these days, Stiles, I’m going to learn how she finds you all this intel.” Danny leaned back in his chair. “And why.”

“A gentleman never tells,” Stiles said primly, although truthfully, it wasn’t very exciting. Lydia just happened to be frighteningly intelligent, and had managed to devise a way to monitor comm traffic. She could then search for key terms that might indicate potential trade and smuggling opportunities. It wasn’t the most... ethical of methods, but it worked.

As for why? Stiles liked to think it was because they were friends. Lydia was another expatriate of Beacon Hills. She’d grown up there before she’d been invited to join an elite mathematics consortium on a planet in the Center Arc. In reality, however, he thought she liked proving she could do something so difficult, and do it well.

Danny held out his hand. “It’s connected to the main console in the living area. I’ll get started on your supplies.” Stiles handed him the pad back and stood up, Neeko gripping his shoulder to keep her balance.

“Thanks, Danny. I owe you one.”

“As a matter of fact, you already owe me several,” Danny said, brushing his pants off as he stood up as well.

Stiles waved his hand. “Details, my friend.” He held out a hand and Danny clasped it, before Stiles went to contact Lydia.

~~~

Stiles settled himself down in Danny’s small apartment, adjusting his tunic and making sure he looked presentable. Lydia always made it a point to harangue him about his clothes, insisting that just because he spent all of his time on a ship, it was no excuse for sloppiness. He keyed in the frequency and mentally crossed his fingers that Lydia was home. After a few moments, the shimmery form of Lydia’s head and upper body appeared.

“Stiles,” she said, smiling warmly, and then she flicked her eyes up to his shoulder. “What an interesting... accessory.”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Even you have to admit that she’s cute.”

“I never said she wasn’t,” Lydia said, “But I doubt you found a holo console just to show off a new pet.”

“You know me too well.” Lydia cocked an eyebrow at him, and Stiles continued, “Scott and I are looking for another job.”

Lydia tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Well, you happen to be in luck. I caught something a few days ago that I think you’ll be interested in.”

Stiles rubbed his hands together and leaned forward. “Lay it on me.”

Lydia tapped a few controls off-screen, no doubt bringing up her information. “The shipment is being put together on Calabria. Have you heard of it?”

“We’ve never been there, but yes,” Stiles replied, running some quick calculations in his head.  
“It’s only a few days from where we are.”

Lydia nodded. “That’s lucky for you. There’s a lot of interest in this shipment.”

“Why? What’s it made up of?”

Lydia consulted her screen again. “Looks like semi-precious gems, some metals and alloys, bolts of fabric, maybe some engineering machinery.”

Stiles frowned, confused. “I don’t get it, Lyds. Those things can be found almost anywhere.”

“Exactly. You ready for the other shoe?” 

“What’s up?” Stiles asked cautiously, worried by the strained look on Lydia’s face

“Rebellion.”

Stiles; mouth dropped open. “Seriously?”

Lydia nodded her head, her face closed off. “I don’t know how much you and Scott hear, hopping planets, but the Guild has not been winning many popularity votes lately.”

Stiles rubbed his hand over his face, and then flinched when Neeko nipped his fingertip. “There’s been some noise, here and there, but I had no idea rebellion was even being considered.” It was almost inconceivable. The Guild was a huge power, and had been the governing body for the majority of the galaxy since before Stiles was a gleam in his parents’ eyes.

Lydia waved her hand in dismissal. “It’s a common theme for any type of government, no matter the size. Power, corruption, revolution.” Her tone was both flippant and matter-of-fact, but Stiles could see the worry pinching the corners of her eyes.

“Lydia... are things okay by you?”

She sighed. “I won’t lie, they’re not great. It’s the planets here in the Center Arc that seem to be firing the opening salvos.” She cleared her throat. “As a matter of interest, a planet in the Arc is whereyou’d be bringing this shipment. Darakis.” 

Stiles’ interest peaked. That was in the same system as the planet Lydia was on.“ No wonder you picked this up then, that’s practically in your backyard.”

“Maybe if you’re not too busy, you boys could come and see me.”

Stiles leaned forward and flashed her his best rakish grin. “So I can continue to woo you with my manly charms?” 

Lydia’s laughter rang out high and clear, and Stiles was pleased to see her face brighten.  
“Still a charmer, I see. Why didn’t I ever take advantage of that?” Lydia mused.

“Because anyone with eyes could see there was no coming between you and Jackson.” Stiles pointed out. At one point, that might have bothered him, but not anymore. He’d had years to get over those emotions.

“Not to mention a tall, dark and handsome fixation of yours?” Stiles rolled his eyes at her as she went on, “The last time I spoke with Scott, he told me you’ve run into Derek quite a few times.”

“Scott seems convinced that he’s following us around.” 

“And what do you think?” 

“That Derek thinks we’re a couple of snot-nosed kids that followed him off Beacon Hills. Never mind that we were planning this years before he took off with his little merry band of friends and started running cargo. It makes sense that we cross paths.”

“Uh-huh.” 

Lydia looked unconvinced and Stiles flapped his hand at her in irritation. “Believe what you want then. I’m fairly positive Derek would love to kick my ass, particularly when we snatch up better cargo runs repeatedly, despite him having a better ship.”

“You’re welcome, by the way.”

Stiles’ irritation drained away, and was replaced by a feeling of guilt. He smiled sheepishly at Lydia who shook her head at him despairingly, before she returned to her console and started rapidly pushing buttons. 

“I’m sending you all the information you need,” she said as she hit the final button and propped her chin on her hand. “Keep safe, Stiles, and I expect to hear from you soon.”

“I will,” Stiles promised.

Lydia wiggled her fingers at him in a wave. “Your pet just spit on you,” she said, before disconnecting the comm line. Stiles snapped his gaze to the side and cursed creatively when he saw half-digested berries dribbling down his sleeve. Neeko just blinked her wide eyes at him and chittered.

~~~

Stiles wove his way through the crowds of people filling the tavern, heading for the table Scott had commandeered. He clapped Scott on the shoulder and bent down to his ear, raising his voice to be heard above the crowd filling the seats around them. 

“I’ve got us another job.” 

Scott looked up and raised his eyebrows questioningly as Stiles went around to the other side of the table and flopped into a chair. He grabbed one of the glasses on the table and taking a swig, as Neeko jumped off of his shoulder and immediately started investigating Scott’s food. 

Scott smiled and scratched her behind the ears. “How’s Lydia?” he asked, taking a sip of his own drink.

“She’s all right, but she had some pretty big news,” Stiles said, setting his glass back down. 

Before Stiles could actually tell Scott the news, however, Scott’s eyes bugged out of his head. He was looking somewhere over Stiles’ head, but before Stiles could ask what had caught his friend’s attention, a hand dropped down onto Stiles’ shoulder. He immediately recognized the long fingers and shapely nails, and he rolled his eyes. 

“How is Lydia? I never did spend enough time with that girl back home.”

Stiles turned in his chair, looking up and saw Erica standing over him, smirking, one hand planted on her hip. She tossed her blond curls out of her face and slid into the third chair at the table.

“Are you for real?” Stiles asked. “You guys can stop stalking me and Scott at any time, you know.”

Erica shot him a look, eyes widened innocently. “Lokusa is a popular station. We’re just re-stocking our supplies.” 

Stiles crossed his arms, unconvinced. “I don’t believe it.”

Erica shrugged and reached out to scratch Neeko, who squeaked happily at the attention. “So... Lydia’s news?”

Stiles narrowed his eyes at the little miscreant, and he absolutely did not feel petty at all when he said, “Nothing I feel like sharing with you.” Stiles met Erica’s subsequent pout with a steady look and continued, “Where’s the rest of your little gang of misfits by the way?” 

Erica looked back over her shoulder and Stiles followed her gaze to where he could see the rest of Derek’s crew crowded around another table, peering their way interestedly. Their captain himself was nowhere to be seen, but the others were all there. He could see Cora and Isaac huddled together whispering, and Boyd staring boldly at him, arms crossed.

“Who’s that?” Scott asked, pointing at a girl Stiles didn’t recognize.

“Who, Kira? Someone new we picked up a few weeks ago.”

“Is she as much fun as you and Cora?” Stiles asked dryly, wondering if she was half as confident and fierce as the two he already knew.

“A little sweet for me,” Erica said after a moments consideration, “but she’s a capable engineer, with some pretty intense swordfighting skills.” Erica eyed Scott thoughtfully. “You’d probably like her.” 

Stiles snorted with laughter that died out when he saw Scott peering Kira’s way curiously, murmuring, “She’s so pretty,” under his breath. 

“Scott!” Stiles snapped, and Scott jumped, grinning sheepishly. 

Erica clucked her tongue and rolled her eyes at their antics. She looked utterly superior when she said, “When are you going to realize that we could help each other out?”

“Scott and I don’t need any help. _Your_ ship, on the other hand?” Stiles waved cheerily at Derek’s crew, fake grin plastered to his face.

“If that’s the way you want to play it, Stilinski, your choice.” Erica grabbed Stiles’ drink, took a delicate sip, and then leaned forward to tweak Stiles’ nose. She cackled loudly when he sputtered and jerked backwards, almost falling out of his chair.

“Always nice to see you boys.” She gave Scott a little finger wave, and the sashayed back to her table, sitting down next to Boyd. Stiles watched in irritation as she leaned close to whisper into Boys’s ear, whatever she said making him smile. 

When Stiles brought his attention back to his own table, he saw Scott was making eyes at Kira again, and he snapped his fingers in front of Scott’s face. “Hey!” he said, making Scott jump. 

“So.” Scott cleared his throat. “Lydia?”

Stiles leaned closer so he wouldn’t be overheard and murmured, “Rebellion, Scott. The planets in the Inner Arc are starting to try to usurp the Guild.”

“Are you serious?” Scott asked, looking grave.

“Lydia seemed very serious. She found us a shipment on Calabria to be brought to the Inner Arc for the Rebellion.”

Scott’s mouth dropped open in shock, because he wasn’t stupid. Stiles knew that Scott understood what it meant for them to take this job. “Stiles, this sounds dangerous even for us.”

“When is our job _not_ dangerous?”

“Good point.” Scott mused. “But openly aiding a rebellion against the Guild?.”

“How many times have we gone around the Guild to help people before? This is just one more time.” When Scott’s face stayed wary, Stiles continued, “Come on, Scott. We can do this.” 

Scott looked resigned when he said, “someday, I’ll figure out how to say no to you, Stiles.” 

“But today is not that day.” Stiles raised his glass and clinking it against Scott’s. He took a sip and glanced around, stopping when he saw Derek’s crew. They weren’t looking at him and Scott, but it almost looked like they had their heads cocked, like they were listening. He felt paranoid for a moment, but dismissed it. Even if they had been trying to listen in, the din of the tavern would have drowned out anything he said.

Reaching over, Stiles grabbed some food off of Scott’s plate and popped it into his mouth. “Anyway, let’s get back to the ship. Danny’s rounding up some supplies for us, so we should probably be there to meet him when brings them by.” 

Scott nodded. “Okay. We’ve got four new sections of hull plating waiting to replace what was damaged.”

Stiles clapped his hands together. “Great! Let’s go, buddy.” He held out his arm and Neeko scrambled up to his shoulder, and immediately started pawing through his hair. He and Scott stood up and headed for the door of the tavern. 

Stiles went out first and then promptly swore as he crashed into a wall of muscle. An arm reaching out and catching his elbow was the only thing that kept him from falling on his ass.

Derek Hale smiled toothily down at him, showing off slightly prominent front teeth that Stiles absolutely _did not_ find adorable in any way. “Problem walking, Stiles?”

“Give me a break.” Stiles pulled his elbow out of Derek’s grasp, hating that he could feel his face coloring. He brushed off his jacket and tried to look calm. “Why don’t you go preside over your minions, and let us through?” 

Derek stood to the side and swept his arm out.

“Thanks a lot,” Scott said dryly. He put his hand on Stiles’ back and pushed them past Derek, who continued to watch them until they rounded a corner.

“What is with that guy?” Stiles muttered. 

Scott shot him a calculating look, eyebrows raised, but said nothing. 

They spent the rest of the walk back to the ship in silence, broken only by Neeko’s occasional snuffling.

~~~

Stiles huffed out a breath, and held a piece of hull plating steady as Scott welded it in place.

“What?” Scott asked, without looking at Stiles.

“Derek!” Stiles shouted, still stewing from their earlier confrontation. “I just don’t get that guy.”

Scott dropped his welder to his side and banged his forehead against the side of the ship.

“Problem, Scotty?”

Scott brought the welder back up and started sealing the plate. “Are we ever going to discuss your massive crush on Derek or what?”

“Are you and Lydia in on this together?” Stiles sputtered, and when Scott just shook his head and grinned at him Stiles finally broke down. “Okay, yes,” he shouted in frustration, “I find the guy attractive. Too bad I’m pretty sure he thinks of both of us as annoying bugs to be swatted.”  
.  
“If you say so.” 

Stiles jabbed a finger in Scott’s direction. “I do. And we’re dropping this, right now.”

“You’re the one who brought Derek up.”

Stiles ground his teeth. “I am aware of that.” He shrugged his shoulders. “And it’s my prerogative to stop talking about him. Starting now.” 

Scott then muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, _‘we’ll see how long that lasts’_ which Stiles pointedly ignored. 

~~~

It took Stiles and Scott about eight hours to finish repairs on the ship and set the coordinates for Calabria on their hyperdrive. During that time, Stiles only brought up the subject of Derek ans his crew three more times, which he counted as a win. He couldn’t help his stupid obsession and Scott was just going to have to put up with it. He’d been enamored by the older man since they were kids, and he’d seen Derek and his huge family around the colony. 

When the fire had happened, it had sent a horrible chord through the entire colony, but worse to Stiles was how it had changed Derek. He had always seemed larger than life and in control to Stiles, but he had become closed off and antagonistic. And then he’d vanished. Stiles had only heard about it afterwards, how Derek had used his family’s money to buy a ship, picked through the outcasts of Beacon Hills to crew it, and then left without a word.

Of course, Derek wasn’t the only one to have lost his family. Stiles lay on his back in bed, Neeko curled up sleeping on his stomach. He held a data pad in one hand and used the other to scratch her fur in circles. He swept his thumb over the pad’s surface as picture after picture of his parents flashed over the screen. He thought about how he could see himself in Derek, and wondered if maybe that more than anything, was one of the reasons he felt so strongly for him.

Stiles sighed and tossed the pad onto the table next to his bunk. Neeko stretched and blearily opened her eyes and then crawled up next to Stiles’ face, before curling up again against his neck. He stroked her fur before drifting off to sleep himself.

Stiles jolted awake when he felt a hand on his shoulder. When he realized it was just Scott, he groaned and rubbed his eyes. “What’s up, buddy?”

“We’re entering the system around Calabria. You have Lydia’s info about the contact, right?”

Stiles craned his neck to look at the recessed shelf built into the wall above his bed and gestured at the box he kept the pads with all the cargo records inside. He stretched and dislodged Neeko, who fell off the pillow and proceeded to squawk in outrage. She hissed at him and ran off the bed and out the door, slapping him in the face with her tail as Scott doubled over, laughing. Stiles shot him a vulgar hand gesture and grabbed the small carved box, flipping the lid open. He grabbing the pad on the top of the stack and tossed it to Scott who caught it easily.

“Up you get, Stiles,” Scott said, holding his free hand out and pulling Stiles to his feet, patting him on the back. “We’ve got a deal to negotiate.”

~~~

Stiles swept his scanner from side to side, the dim lighting from the buildings making it hard to see. Scott kept looking around nervously. “Stiles,” he said, “are you sure these were the right coordinates?”

Stiles looked up from the scanner. “Yeah, why?” 

“I don’t know. It just seems pretty out of the way and deserted. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“Well,” Stiles whispered, “considering this shipment is about supplying a faction rebelling against the galactic government, I’d be shocked if it was anything but out of the way.”

Scott looked slightly appeased, but kept darting his eyes around in all directions.

“Okay,” Stiles said finally, “they should be waiting for us outside of a warehouse thirty meters ahead.”

Scott nodded and dropped his hand down to the energy weapon holstered at his side. Stiles did the same. They made their way through a stone archway and saw a group of five people standing in front of a large dingy building. Stiles recognized the one on the right as the contact Lydia had found for them. 

Stiles nodded and the contact nodded back, and he and Scott had just started to cross the open space when an enormous fireball exploded behind the men. 

Stiles and Scott were both thrown onto their backs, and Stiles gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. They rolled over and scrambled to their feet, and then immediately dropped back down onto the dusty ground when the deafening sound of energy fire and more explosions rocked the area around them. 

“Run!” Stiles screamed at Scott, not even able to hear the sound of his own voice over the noise. 

They both pushed themselves to their feet once again, and sprinted back the way they came. The hurtled through the stone archway and back down the thoroughfare, heading out of the small town. Humanoids began running out of the buildings, shouting in multitudes of languages, panic and confusion evident in the tones of their voices. Another explosion rocked the village and almost everyone fell to the ground The dim lights on the outside of the buildings promptly went out and plunged them into near total darkness, only broken by the flashes from repeated energy weapon discharges. Stiles could hear the sounds of fighting and screaming over the din of weapons, and he grabbed Scott’s arm, yanking him to his feet as they stumbled in what was hopefully the right direction.

Stiles’ lungs were already burning, but he pushed his legs harder. The ship was a few hundred meters outside the border of the town. They just needed to make it there and they could get the fuck out of here.

He pounded down the road, glancing back over his shoulder, and then screeched to an abrupt halt when he realized Scott wasn’t next to him. 

Stiles cursed and looked around frantically. “Scott!” he screamed, pushing his way through the mob of locals, getting more desperate by the second. He turned in a frantic circle, panic pushing at the inside of his chest when suddenly he was grabbed and thrown bodily over someone’s shoulder. 

He shouted in protest and twisted, trying to get free, and then they were both knocked to the ground by another explosion right where Stiles had been standing.

He looked up in disbelief as Derek Hale crouched over him, looking wild.

“What are you doing here?” Stiles screamed.

“Saving your ass apparently,” Derek shouted back, grabbing Stiles and pulling him to his feet. “We gotta get out of here, now!”

Stiles dug his feet into the ground, “I’m not leaving without Scott!” he yelled, on the verge of losing it completely. 

Derek growled, but Stiles just yanked his hand out of Derek’s.

“All right!” Derek yelled, and he peered out into the street. “What was Scott wearing?”

“A brown coat and blue pants. Why?” But Derek only cursed and took off running back the way they’d come. Stiles followed, evading the thinning crowd of people running through he streets.

When he caught up to Derek, he was crouched over a body on the ground. Oh gods no, Stiles thought as he dropped to his knees, heaving with panic. He watched numbly as Derek scooped Scott up and threw him over his shoulder before grabbed Stiles’ hand and pulling him toward the edge of town once more.

“He’s alive, Stiles, now MOVE IT!” 

As they ran, Stiles noted that the energy fire was slowly dying down, but his heart still pounded at every sound as they ran full tilt out of the town. Stiles strained to see anything through the smoke, and he wondered how Derek was running at full speed like this, without any hesitation. 

After a few tense minutes they finally came to the clearing where Scott had set down the _Morning Star._ Gasping for air, Stiles keyed in his entry code and they ran up the ramp into the ship.

“Quarters, that way,” Stiles choked out, motioning in the right direction. He watched as Derek hurried off with Scott, and then he staggered to the cockpit, his lungs on fire from the sprint and inhaling dust. He powered up the ship’s systems as quickly as he could, barely glancing up when Derek came running into the cockpit and threw himself into the second seat.

Stiles turned to look at him and balked at the blood covering his hands and shirt. “Scott?” 

“Alive for now, Stiles, but it won’t do him any good if the ship gets blown to pieces.” 

Together they got the ship off the ground and into orbit, where they were promptly rocked by more energy fire. There was a large and wicked looking ship coming right at them, and Derek swore creatively. Despite the situation, Stiles couldn’t help but be impressed, and he laughed a little hysterically.

He watched numbly as Derek dug in the pocket of his jacket and flipped a communicator open.

“Erica,” he barked.

 _ **“Derek, what’s going on?”**_ Erica’s worried voice immediately came through the speaker.

“It’s the Alphas, they attacked the warehouse. I’m on Scott and Stiles’ ship and we need cover, now!”

 _ **“On our way,”**_ Erica replied, and then Derek shoved the communicator back into his pocket and started manipulating the controls again.

“Alphas?” Stiles asked. "Who the hell are they?”

“They’re dangerous, let’s just leave it at that,” Derek replied as the _Morning Star_ was rocked by another blast.

Suddenly two arcs of blue energy passed over their ship and hit the Alpha’s vessel. A few seconds later, Derek's ship passed over them and provided cover.

“I would suggest getting out of here now while they’re distracted. There’s a nebula less than an hour away from here that will mask us from scanners. I’m sending the coordinates to navigation now.”

There was a long pause. “Stiles!” Derek snapped, when Stiles just sat frozen, his mind reeling. “Now!”

Stiles jumped and fumbled at the controls, engaging the hyperdrive which was thankfully, still operational. “What about your ship?” he asked, voice quiet when he felt the familiar jolt as they went to past light speed.

“They can handle themselves.” Derek stood up. “Now, let’s go take care of Scott.”

~~~

Stiles ran back to Scott’s quarters and slammed the door open, Derek right behind him. They both dropped to their knees neck to Scott’s bunk. Stiles felt ready to throw up when he saw the amount of blood and charred fabric that was all that was left of the front of Scott’s shirt. Scott was breathing shallowly, and his face had gone a ghastly color. He moaned as Derek gently pushed away the mangled fabric of his tunic. 

Stiles gasped uncontrollably when Scott’s abdomen was revealed. He’d obviously taken a direct hit from an energy weapon. The skin around the wound was burned and blistered and the wound itself went deep into the abdominal cavity. Stiles’ sight started to swim as tears filled his eyes, and black spots appeared in his vision. He dimly heard Derek say, “put your head between your knees, Stiles.” 

Stiles complied, trying to slow his breathing, and finally managed to whisper, “I got him killed. My best friend is going to die because of me.”

“Not necessarily.”

Stiles whipped his head up. “Are you looking at the same thing I am?” he said, feeling gorge rising in the back of his throat. “For fuck’s sake, I can see his internal organs. We don’t have anything that can heal that kind of damage.” 

“I can,” Derek said firmly, and Stiles looked at him in disbelief. “But you need to trust me.”

Stiles gaped wordlessly at him, which Derek apparently took for consent. He pulled Scott’s shirt completely off at the side, baring the lower part of his belly where it became his hip. Suddenly, Derek’s eyes flashed a deep red and he opened his mouth, revealing fangs. Neeko, who had been perched on Scott’s headboard, shrieked and ran to the corner of the room, where she sat shivering in fear.

“What the hell?” Stiles yelled, and pushed Derek away from Scott. “What are you?”

“Stiles,” Derek barked, speech distorted around the thick fangs, “I don’t have time to explain. The only reason Scott isn’t dead already from blood loss is because the wound’s been cauterized.” Stiles felt his head swimming again, and he forced himself not to recoil when Derek grabbed his arm. “You need to trust me.” 

Stiles nodded mutely and watched in fascination mixed with horror as Derek lowered his mouth to Scott’s side and bit him deeply. Scott’s back arched off the bed, but he didn’t regain consciousness. When Derek took his mouth away, blood dripping down his chin, Scott’s body relaxed back into limpness.

Stiles sat, just staring at Derek, not knowing where to begin. He crawled over to Neeko and picked her up, cradling her close. She burrowed under his jacket and shivered into his side. “What are you,” he whispered, not taking his eyes off Derek. The red eyes faded back to their normal color and the fangs disappeared. Derek grimaced and spat the blood onto the floor, before using a scrap of Scott’s shirt to perfunctorily clean his chin.

“I’m a shapeshifter,” Derek said, wiping off his hands. “My whole crew are as well.”

Stiles blinked rapidly, trying to get his head around what Derek had said. Shapeshifters were extremely rare, but he’d heard stories about humanoids that could shift into animals and back again. “How is it that your entire crew is made of shapeshifters when they’re so rare? Most of them are people from Beacon Hills.”

Derek cocked an eyebrow at him like he thought Stiles was an idiot. “Because I turned them into shifters. I’m an Alpha. My bite can change others into shifters like me.”

Stiles felt the color drain from his face as the full implication of what Derek had said dawned on him. “So… Scott?”

Derek nodded, looking apologetic. “If the bite takes, then yes..” 

“What do you mean, if the bite takes?” Stiles demanded.

“If his body rejects the bite, he’ll die.”

“What?” Stiles gasped. “I thought you said you could save him?”

“If the bite takes, it will save him,” Derek replied. “Shapeshifters have accelerated healing abilities. Scott’s wound will completely heal in just a few hours.”

“So that means…what exactly?”

Derek sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He looked tired all of a sudden. “All we can do is wait.”

Stiles nodded and stared at Scott’s slack face, hope and fear in equal measures clamoring inside him.

~~~~

Once they were safely hidden inside the nebula, Derek went to clean up and put on some spare clothes, leaving Stiles alone with Scott. He’d suggested that Stiles do the same, but Stiles hadn’t wanted to leave Scott's side. He felt like if he left Scott’s side, his friend would simply slip away, so he’d pulled a chair over next to Scott’s bunk and sat quietly, holding Neeko in his lap. Every few minutes, she would reach out a tiny hand and pat Scott’s arm, and seeing how worried she was, made Stiles feel even worse.

Scott was still breathing at least, but nothing was healing yet. He almost looked like he was in a state of suspended animation, and Stiles wondered if that was good or bad. He jumped as the cabin door slid open and Derek came in wearing some old clothes of Scott’s that were slightly too small for him; they strained across his chest and shoulders. He looked ridiculous, but Stiles couldn’t muster up the energy to even be slightly amused.

“Still nothing,” Stiles muttered and Derek dropped a hand onto his shoulder. 

“Give it more time,” Derek said. “The fact that he’s still alive is very encouraging.”

Stiles nodded and blew out his breath, watching as Derek pulled a second chair over to Stiles’ side and sat down. 

“How are you holding up?” Derek asked.

“Honestly? There’s about a million things running through my mind right now, and I can’t even begin to process it all.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You mentioned that your whole crew are shifters?” When Derek nodded Stiles continued, “Did you turn your sister too?”

Derek shook his head at that. “No, Cora is a born shifter, like me. As a matter of fact, our entire family were born shifters.”

Which made sense. From the little that Stiles knew about them, shifters passed on the genes to most of their children. He couldn’t believe there’d been an entire family of shifters living on his colony though. “How come I never knew about this?” 

Stiles grimaced when Derek tensed at the question. He’d obviously touched a nerve. “Never mind, it’s none of my business.”

“No, it’s alright. We didn’t advertise what we were, because of the Guild.” At Stiles’ questioning look, he explained, “the Guild see shapeshifters as threats because of our abilities to change into an animal and hide ourselves. Heal ourselves. They wanted us killed or under their control.”

“That’s horrible!” Stiles said, and then he was hit with an awful thought. “Oh Derek… the fire.”

Derek nodded and clenched his jaw. “Carried out by the Guild. All off record, so they wouldn’t be blamed. But it was a sanctioned execution.”

Stiles didn’t know how Derek could be so sure of that, but he knew it wasn’t his place to ask. Just the little bit they were talking about was obviously causing Derek pain, so he put his hand on Derek’s shoulder. “I am so sorry.”

Derek reached up and squeezed Stiles’ hand for a second and then dropped it back to his lap. Stiles kept his own hand on Derek’s shoulder for a few more seconds, before pulling it away and reaching down to scratch Neeko behind the ears instead. 

Derek looked over at him, brow furrowed. His gaze was intense and Stiles couldn’t help but fidget under the intense scrutiny. “Stiles, you need to get cleaned up and get some rest.”

Stiles shook his head stubbornly. “No way. I’m staying here.”

“Stiles, you look ready to fall over. I promise, I’ll stay with Scott. If anything changes, I’ll come get you.” 

Stiles opened his mouth to argue, then closed it at the stern look on Derek’s face. “Fine. But I don’t care how deeply I’m asleep, you wake my ass up if something changes.” 

A tiny fond smile curled Derek’s mouth. “I promise. Now go.” 

Stiles stood up and carried Neeko over to the door. He turned back and watched Derek scoot his chair closer to Scott’s bunk and make himself comfortable. Derek must have sensed Stiles watching him because he turned and made a shooing gesture.

Stiles walked out the door.

~~~~

Stiles rolled his shoulders and stretched, coming slowly awake. He felt a gentle hand on his arm and he groaned, “Just give me a few more minutes, Scott,.” As soon as he said it, the memories of the last day came tumbling back though, and he shot upright to see Derek standing over him. “What is it?” he gasped.

“Go and see,” Derek said. 

Stiles flailed out of his bunk and landed hand on the floor. He kicked the covers away and scrambled to his feet, running out the door and across the tiny corridor to Scott’s room. Scott’s shirt was completely off now, the bite mark gone. The wound itself was nearly healed, the skin of Scott’s stomach new and pink. Stiles covered his mouth with his hand and nearly sobbed with relief. Not wanting to wake Scott, he backed out of the room and let the door slide shut.

He walked down the corridor, his face in his hands, pressing the heels against his eyes to stop the tears from coming. Derek came up behind him and put his hand on Stiles’ shoulder again. “Are you alright?” 

Stiles turned around and threw his arms around Derek’s neck. Derek grunted in surprise, but his arms went around Stiles’ waist in return, holding him tightly as Stiles clung to him and breathed into his neck. “I don’t how to thank you. What you did… it’s amazing.”

“It was nothing,” Derek muttered, sounding embarrassed. 

“Stop that. It was everything.” 

They stayed there, immobile, holding each other for a long time. 

When it happened, there was a sense of inevitability. Derek turned his face until his nose brushed Stiles’ cheek and his lips bumped against Stiles’ jaw. Stiles turned his head enough to slide his lips over Derek’s, before Derek made a noise in his throat and sealed their mouths together more firmly. The kiss stayed chaste for a moment before Derek flicked his tongue against the seam of Stiles’ lips. 

Stiles opened his mouth and gasped as Derek plunged his tongue inside. He felt his back bump against the bulkhead as Derek pressed against him. Within seconds there was a new desperation to their kissing, and their hands grabbed frantically at each other, trying to get as close as possible. Stiles dropped his head back and thumped it on the wall when Derek inserted his thigh between his legs. Derek apparently took this as an invitation to attack his neck and Stiles groaned when he latched onto the skin under his ear and started sucking and licking. 

Stiles’ hips moved almost on their own accord, as he started riding Derek’s thigh. Derek made a pleased noise against Stiles’ neck and dropped his hand to the back of Stiles’ thigh, pulling his leg up. Getting the hint Stiles wrapped first one, then the other leg around Derek’s hips and let Derek hold him up against the bulkhead. Stiles bit down on his own arm to keep the noises from pouring out of his mouth as they rutted against each other quickly. 

When his orgasm hit, Stiles ground out a muffled, “Derek!” as his hips jerked and he filled his trousers with come. Derek stilled a few moments later and Stiles felt more warmth seep through the seat of his pants. 

They stood unmoving for a minute, both of their chests heaving with exertion. Stiles patted Derek’s shoulder and he dropped Stiles to his feet. “That was… that was,” Stiles muttered, freezing as the realization of what they had just done hit him. He backed away from Derek, before turning and fleeing through the door of his quarters. Derek followed him in. “What was that?” Stiles asked, voice higher pitched than he’d like. 

“What was what?” Derek asked, face bland.

 _“That?!”_ Stiles flapped his hand at the door. “This?” He gestured towards their pants, the stains obvious through the dark fabric. “You don’t even like me! And, fuck, Scott’s unconscious four feet away.” He scrubbed his hands through his hair, making is stick up wildly. “What were we thinking?!”

“I don’t dislike you, Stiles,” Derek said, nonplussed. He raised his eyebrows and just looked at Stiles.

“That’s it?” Stiles asked, raising his own eyebrows back.

“What do you want me to say? I find you attractive, and I like you. Even though you irritate the crap out of me.”

Stiles’ stared at Derek. Derek had just completely rocked his world view and Stiles didn’t know how to handle it. At a loss for what to do, Stiles finally settled on something he could manage. “Do you mind turning around while I get cleaned up?” 

“Seriously?” Derek asked, deadpan. 

“Yes! I don’t need you seeing me naked for the first time like this.” 

“So, I’ll eventually get to see you naked?” Derek asked, smirking. 

“Oh my god,” Stiles said as he buried his face in his hands. Derek rolled his eyes but did turn around as requested. 

Once Derek wasn’t looking, Stiles hastily peeled off his soiled trousers and cleaned himself up before pulling on a fresh pair. 

“I’ll leave you to get cleaned up,” Stiles said with as much dignity as he could muster. Derek snorted and started opening his pants and Stiles beat a hasty retreat to the door. “I’m going to sit with Scott for awhile.”

“Fine,” Derek said. “I’ll be in the cockpit."

 

~~~~

A few hours later, Stiles sat waiting for Scott to wake up. Derek had only been in once, to tell him that there was no sign of anyone following them into the nebula, and that there only were minor repairs needed. Stiles had blushed violently as soon as he’d had come in, which had amused Derek more than Stiles really cared for.

Suddenly Scott took a deeper, gasping breath and Stiles jerked his head up. He stood up and leaned over Scott, grabbing one of his hands. When Scott opened his eyes and croaked, "Stiles?" he heaved out a sobbing breath and collapsed onto Scott's chest, hugging him close. 

Scott's arms came around Stiles and hugged him back. " Hey," he murmured, "What's the matter?"

"I'm glad you're alright, that's all."

Scott pushed himself up into his elbows, looking confused. "What happened? All I remember is running away from that ambush."

Stiles put his arm out to help Scott into a sitting position. "Derek saved us. He got us out of there and his ship gave us cover."

Scott rubbed a hand over his face, looking confused. "Why can't I remember? Was I hurt?"

Stiles swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat. "Yes. You were hurt."

"Well, you've gotten better at medical treatment because I feel fine." Scott swung his legs over the edge of his bunk and clapped Stiles on the shoulder.

Stiles smiled weakly. "That was Derek too." 

When Scott's brow furrowed, Stiles went on. "I honestly don't even know how to explain it without bringing Derek in here to show you."

~~~~

Derek’s explanation had not gone over well. 

"You turned me into a monster!" Scott railed, stomping around his quarters.

“And if I hadn’t, you’d be dead now!” Derek shot back, arms folded and looking thunderous. 

“I never asked f…”

“Scott!” Stiles interrupted, stopping Scott mid word. Stiles stood up and walked over to him. “Derek’s right.” Scott started to open his mouth again, but Stiles grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. “Scott, your insides were blown open! There was no other way that we could have saved you.” His fingers tightened on Scott’s shoulders. “And it was my fault. My fault we were down there. There was no way that I could let you die. So if you’re going to be angry at someone, be angry at me.”

Scott’s face softened. “Stiles… of course I’m not angry at you.” He sighed. “It’s just… scary. And frustrating that I didn’t have a choice.”

“I don’t blame you, but Derek is here to help. You’re not the first person he’s changed into a shifter.” 

Scott looked at Derek over Stiles’ shoulder and Derek nodded. My crew,” he said simply. “The ones who weren’t already shifters anyway.”

Scott rubbed his temples with his hands. “This is just a lot to take in.”

Stiles rubbed his shoulders. “Why don’t you and Derek talk. He can obviously answer your questions better than I can,” and then Stiles looked over his shoulder at Derek and mouthed, ‘Be Nice’. 

Derek’s mouth turned up a little at the corner. 

“Now,” Stiles said, looking at Scott, “I’m going to do a full systems diagnostic and make sure to start any repairs.”

“Fine,” Scott huffed, crossing his arms. He eyed Derek dubiously, but didn’t look like he was going to start yelling again either. 

Content to let the two men sort things out themselves, Stiles headed for the door. Derek caught his arm before he could exit though and pulled out a small chip from his pocket. “Stiles, it’s been longer than I’d like hearing from my crew. This has an encrypted frequency on it. Broadcast it on a wide-band signal. My ship should be able to pick it up and localize on our position.”

“Are you sure that’s safe?”

“Like I said, it’s encrypted. Only my crew will be able to decipher it.” 

Stiles held out his hand and took the chip, and Stiles felt a lurch in his gut when Derek caught his fingers briefly and gave them a squeeze. 

He swallowed. “I’ll leave you to it, then,” he said, leaving Derek and Scott staring at each other warily.

~~~~

Stiles sat with his legs up on the control panel, spinning his chair back and forth. The nebula outside cast a pinkish glow over the cockpit, reflecting off the panels. He drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair and tried not to feel impatient. He had left Scott and Derek over an hour ago and had heard nothing so far. Except some muffled yelling, that is.

He’d also keyed in the frequency that Derek had given him, but there had been no response. He tried not to think about what that meant. 

About fifteen minutes later, the door to the cockpit slid open and Stiles whipped his chair around to see Scott walking in. Stiles smiled cautiously at him as Scott walked in and sat down in his chair. He looked fairly calm and collected, not as anxious as he’d been when he’d first awoken. 

“Hey,” Stiles said tentatively. “So. What’s up?”

“Derek wanted me to join his crew,” Scott said and Stiles choked.

“What?! Why?” 

Scott shrugged. “Because he’s an Alpha with a pack. He thinks I need to be part of one.”

Stiles considered. “Is he right?”

“Maybe. He mentioned some things about control and shifting being easier when you have a pack.” He looked at Stiles pointedly. “So I told him that I already have one.”

Stiles felt his face start to crumble. He was really maxing out his emotional breakdowns for the year. “I don’t know I ended up with such an amazing best friend.” 

Scott put his hand on Stiles’ shoulder. “It’s you and me. That’s just the way it’s going to be.”

Stiles felt a lump rising in his throat, and he put his own hand over Scott’s and squeezed it briefly. “That means a lot, buddy.” They sat for a moment longer before Stiles cleared his throat and changed the subject. “So, how are you going to deal with control and shifting?”

Scott leaned back in his chair. “Derek’s going to help me. He actually seemed to approve when I insisted that you were my pack. He thinks you’ll help me stay grounded.” 

“Well,” Stiles said, peering out the windows at the thick nebular gasses. “We’ve got a pretty good place to hide here while he trains you up. And we need to wait to hear back from his crew anyway.” He paused, and then, because he couldn’t help his curiosity asked, “did he tell you what kind of animal you’d be able to shift into?” 

“Actually, yes,” Scott said. “I’m a wolf.”

“Wow. Although, I shouldn’t be too surprised, considering the way Derek looked when he partially shifted. So, the rest of his crew are wolves too?”

“All except one. Kira… she’s a fox.”

Stiles tried not to show how interesting he found all this, but he was pretty sure he failed, judging by the combination of amusement and exasperation on Scott’s face. He tried to look nonchalant. “So, do you think…”

“Yes, you can watch when Derek helps me figure this out,” Scott said, cutting Stiles off.

Stiles grinned.

~~~~

Scott, Stiles, Derek and Neeko were in the cargo bay. It was the biggest space they had and Derek had thought it would be the best place to practice in here. Plus, it had a reinforced door with an impressive lock. Stiles was a little unnerved that they would potentially need it, but Derek reassured him that it was highly unlikely. 

“Being in space makes it much easier on a shifter in terms of control because the change is encouraged by the lunar cycle and we’re so far away from any planetary bodies when we’re aboard our ships,” Derek explained. “The problem is when we’re on a planet’s surface during a full moon.” He looked at Scott seriously. “Since you and Stiles spend time on and off planets, you’ll need to learn to control your wolf.” 

As Derek continued with his explanations, Stiles realized he was spending more and more time staring at Derek rather than paying attention. He noticed the way Derek’s face pinched in concentration as he instructed Scott in how to control his instincts, and Stiles couldn’t help but find it more than a little attractive. It didn’t help that Derek kept throwing glances and little half-smiles his way. Stiles’ heart rate kicked up every time it happened, and due to his newly acquired shifter knowledge, he cursed when it did, because he knew that Derek-- and Scott now too, _dammit--_ could hear it as well.

The day seemed to stretch out, but Derek seemed pleased with the progress Scott was making, and the three of them finally settled in for a late dinner before heading to bed. Not before Stiles set up a proximity alert set up to warn them of approaching ships and rerouted the comm system to his quarters, of course. 

When Derek made his way into Stiles’ quarters without any hesitation not long after that, Stiles fent went horrifyingly red. Scott chuckled and patted Stiles’ on the shoulder, before picking Neeko up and taking her with him, giving Stiles an exaggerated wink. Stiles smiled faintly back and followed Derek. The door shut soundlessly behind them and Stiles almost swallowed his tongue at the sight of Derek unceremoniously stripping off his shirt and tossing it into the corner, before turning back to face Stiles. 

“So, any extra pillows and blankets?”

Stiles stared for a moment, thrown by Derek’s nonchalance, and then recovered. “Uhh, yeah, there are some in the locker right there.” He pointed to where he meant. “You wanted to sleep in here? With me?”

“I can make do on the floor.”

When Derek gestured to the spot, Stiles said, “That’s not exactly going to be comfortable.”

“I’ve slept on worse, believe me.”

“Oh, I’m sure that’s the case, big tough Alpha wolf,“ Stiles said, rolling his eyes at Derek when he glared over his shoulder. “But… if you want…” He trailed off and shrugged his shoulder in the direction of his bunk. 

Derek looked from the bunk, back to Stiles and smiled a little. “If it’s all right by you.”

Stiles nodded and swallowed. He quickly stripped off his trousers and jacket, leaving just his undershirt and underwear on. He climbed into the bunk and waited, his heart pounding. Derek stood there for a moment, before he dropped his pants as well, leaving him clad in just a pair of way too tight undergarments. Stiles dragged his gaze from Derek’s crotch up to his face and flushed at the intent look in Derek’s eyes.

Derek climbed into the bunk and lay down on his side, propping his face on his hand and watching Stiles. The bunk wasn’t the biggest, so Derek was forced to press the length of his body against Stiles’, the heat of him permeating through the thin layers of the clothes they were wearing. 

They just looked at each other for a few minutes, before Derek quietly asked, “Why do you look so scared?”

Stiles laughed a little nervously. “I don’t know. I guess I’m still adjusting to the fact that you actually like me.” He looked down at his hands where they were fidgeting with the blanket. “And… maybe… I’m a little scared with how much I want you.” His voice had dropped to a whisper, but he knew Derek heard him.

Derek rolled his body so he was propped above Stiles, his arms pressing into the pillow on either side of Stiles’ head. “Well, maybe it’s a good thing, considering how much I want you too.” 

Stiles’ breath hitche,d and Derek pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth. He pulled back and just looked at Stiles, his eyes serious. “I mean it, Stiles. I want this... I want you.” He brushed his lips against Stiles’ neck. “I want to see where this goes.”

Stiles moaned faintly, and arched his body into Derek’s, tilting his head to give Derek better access. Derek rumbled into his neck and started biting and sucking, apparently deciding to do his damnedest to give Stiles a mark. Stiles’ clung to Derek’s shoulders and spread his legs, shifting his hips and trying to get friction. Derek pulled back and smirked at Stiles. “So how about that promise?”

Stiles furrowed his brow as he tried to remember what Derek was referring to. “Promise?” 

Derek grinned teasingly and dipped back down to run his lips against Stiles’ neck. “About getting to see you naked,” he breathed. 

Stiles flushed and pushed at Derek’s shoulders so he was sitting up, straddling Stiles’ hips. Stiles grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it off. He felt a little self-conscious next to Derek, but he didn’t think he had anything to be ashamed of. Derek clearly agreed, if the hungry look he cast over Stiles’ torso was any indication.

Stiles steeled himself and reached for Derek’s underwear, which were not hiding anything. He hooked his fingers under the waistband and slowly peeled them down until Derek’s cock sprang free. Derek rose up onto his knees so he could push his underwear down further, and then his hands went to Stiles’ underwear, grabbing them and yanking them halfway down Stiles’ thighs.

“Holy crap,” Stiles whimpered as Derek sat back down and took the both of them in hand. He looked down the length of his body, and the sight of Derek’s fingers curled around the both of them was too much to handle. He thumped his head back onto his pillow and covered his face with a hand. “You’re gonna kill me,” he muttered. 

Derek chuckled and squeezed his hand around them, making Stiles gasp and buck his hips up. It barely took any time after that before Stiles stiffened and groaned, shooting off over Derek’s hand. Derek dropped himself down over Stiles, his free hand coming to rest next to Stiles’ head. He increased the speed of his hand, making Stiles groan at the stimulation before he came too, adding to the mess on Stiles’ stomach.

Without preamble, Derek slid down Stiles’ body and started licking the come off of his stomach. 

“Seriously. My brain. You’ve broken it.” Stiles mumbled, voice rough.

Derek rumbled into Stiles’ stomach and nipped him, making him gasp and laugh. 

“You enjoyed it,” Derek said, smiling up at him, before tugging their underwear off the rest of the way. 

“You think?” Stiles asked, still out of breath. He held his arms open and Derek crawled into them, rearranging until the two of them were wedged semi-comfortably together. Stiles looked at Derek, who was studying him seriously. “What?” he whispered. Instead of answering, Derek just leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss on the mouth. 

“Sleep, Stiles,” he rumbled, before closing his eyes. 

Stiles sighed happily and did as Derek asked.

~~~~

The next few days passed in a blur. Scott started working on controlling his shift, Derek and Stiles watched, and there was no response from Derek’s encrypted hail. By the time a week had passed, Stiles could see more and more worry pinching Derek’s face, despite his air of confidence that everything was alright. The way he talked about his crew… they were his family. Literally, when Stiles considered Cora. He couldn’t imagine how Derek was feeling. 

On day eight of no word, Stiles entered the cargo bay to find Scott practicing shifting the claws on his fingers one at a time. Neeko looked up from where she was watching Scott, saw Stiles and yammered happily. She clambered up his clothes to her customary spot on his shoulder and nipped at his ear, chittering. He scratched her fur and took his normal seat on one of the cargo containers to watch Scott work. Derek was standing a few feet in front of Scott, arms crossed, but he lowered them and went to sit down next to Stiles.

“Anything?” he asked, his tone full of forced nonchalance.

Stiles looked down at his hands, “I’m sorry Derek.”

Derek nodded to himself and cleared his throat. “They’re probably just making repairs.”

“Derek,” Stiles started, but trailed off at the strained look on Derek’s face. He decided to change the subject to something he’d been meaning to ask. “When we were attacked, you mentioned the Alphas. Obviously, they were the people who attacked us. I’m wondering what you know about them?” 

Derek leaned back against a cargo container and sighed. “They’re another crew of shape shifters.”

Stiles nodded. “I gathered as much from the name.” He slanted his eyes sideways at Derek. “I figured it would be too much of a coincidence otherwise.”

“And just like the name implies, they’re all Alpha shifters. They’re stronger, more powerful. And they’ve decided to use that power to their advantage. They work as mercenaries, assassins, thieves. Whatever brings them the most credits.”

Stiles wrinkled his brow in confusion and absently scratched Neeko. “Then why haven’t Scott and I heard of them before?” As he finished asking his question, Scott finally managed to shift all of his claws and gave Stiles an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Derek shrugged. “They’ve avoided this general region of space until recently. Probably because of me. Packs can be highly territorial and they avoid picking fights with one another.”

“Then why the sudden change?” Stiles asked.

Derek’s face clouded. “From what my crew dug up, they’ve started running under the table missions for the Guild. And as this sector has more planets active in rebelling, they came here.” He paused, looking like he was wrestling with some internal decisions. “Actually… we’re fairly certain we know where they’re holed up right now with all that cargo they stole when they ambushed that warehouse.”

Stiles shot upright and Neeko squealed disapprovingly as she slid off his shoulder, fingers digging into his collar. “Are you serious? So we can track them down and get it back!?”

Derek shook his head. “There’s no way we can do it with just this ship and the three of us. We’d have to get my crew in on it as well.”

Stiles slumped back down and sighed. “So it’s still a waiting game then.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair, frustrated. “For all we know they’ve sold half of it by now.”

“Be positive,” Derek said, rubbing his hand on Stiles’ thigh and squeezing. 

Stiles felt his face heat up and he scowled when he saw Scott smirking from across the hold. “Quit spying!” he groused and Scott burst out laughing.

“You’re not exactly hiding,” Scott pointed out.

Derek chuckled and Stiles was a little shocked at the genuine happiness that filled his face, even through the obvious worry about his crew. 

“You all suck,” Stiles said, pouting. Despite himself the corners of his mouth twitched and he smiled down at his lap, deciding a little embarassment was worth the sound of Derek’s laughter.

~~~~

Two days later, Scott and Stiles were sitting in the cockpit, playing cards. Neeko had balanced herself on Scott’s head, much to Stiles’ amusement. Every few minutes, he’d toss her a berry that she’d stuff in her mouth whole. 

Just as Stiles crushed Scott spectacularly for the third time, a faint noise emitted from their transmitter. Stiles sat up abruptly as he processed the sound, and started pushing buttons.

“It looks like an incoming signal,” he said excitedly.

Scott moved forward to look at the screen as well. “Looks like there’s a block of encrypted text and a vocal component.”

“Let’s hear it,” Stiles said impatiently. Scott pressed a button and a moment later a garbled voice came through. 

_**“Hello boys. Can’t tell you how glad I am that your gorgeous faces made it out in one piece.”** _

Stiles rolled his eyes, but started laughing with relief, mouthing Erica to Scott.

_**“And Derek, I’m sorry this took so long to respond to. Our communications array was almost completely destroyed. Boyd had to work night and day to repair it. I’m sure you were worried, but we’re all okay and are heading your way. Expected to rendezvous in two days. See you soon boys!”** _

The transmission ended and Scott and Stiles grinned at each other. Scott jerked his head to the corridor. “Why don’t you go tell him the good news?” 

Stiles smile softened. “I think I will.” He squeezed Scott’s shoulder and headed for his quarters, where Derek had gone a few hours earlier to get some sleep.

The door hissed open quietly and he took in Derek’s form spread out on his bunk. He was stomach down, and sprawled out like he was trying to take up as much space as possible. Stiles walked over to his and gently shook his shoulder. Derek stretched and rumbled, sounding just like an enormous cat. Stiles snorted with laughter. Derek rolled onto his side and looked up at Stiles, eyes slitted. “What is it?”

“We heard from Erica,” Stiles started and Derek sat up instantly, all signs of tiredness evaporated. Stiles lurched back momentarily, startled, before grabbing Derek’s arm. “They’re fine, Derek. Everybody’s okay.”

Derek blew out a shaky breath and buried his face in his hands, shoulders shaking. Stiles moved forward tentatively, circling his fingers around one of Derek’s wrists. Derek brought his arms down and looped them around Stiles’ waist, holding on tightly. He pushed his face into the front of Stiles’ tunic, rubbing his cheek against the fabric. Stiles gently combed the fingers of one hand through Derek’s hair. 

Derek murmured, “I don’t know what I would’ve done…”

Stiles shushed him. “It doesn’t matter. Everything’s fine. And besides,” he flicked Derek’s ear. “It’s not like we would have shoved you out the airlock at the closest spaceport. You’d have a place here, with us.” Derek huffed a small laugh and pulled Stiles onto the bunk. Stiles laughed breathessly and maneuvered until he was straddling Derek’s lap. “I mean it,” he said, voice serious. “I’ve gotten used to having you around.” 

“That means a lot,” Derek said, tilting his face up and drawing Stiles down for a sweet, soft kiss. 

“Good,” Stiles said, smiling against Derek’s mouth.

~~~~

Less than two days later, Stiles was leaning against a bulkhead watching Derek pace back and forth down the corridor. He crossed his arms and chuckled. “You’re going to wear a hole through the deck plates if you keep that up much longer.”

Derek shot him a glare, but then he sighed and his shoulders relaxed a little. He smiled slightly. “I’m just anxious. This is the longest I’ve been away from my pack.”

Stiles beckoned to him, and Derek walked to Stiles, taking his hand and pulling him close. He kissed Stiles deeply, draping his arms around Stiles’ waist. “Not that there haven’t been some benefits,” he murmured.

“So I’m a benefit now?” Stiles asked, nipping Derek’s bottom lip.

“Definitely,” Derek agreed. He leaned forward and kissed Stiles again, before they were interrupted by the comm in Stiles’ pocket chirping.

“The _Triskele_ is coming on up on our port.” Scott said. “Magnetic seals attaching now.”

The ship juddered a bit as the seals took hold. After a moment, the airlock hissed open and Derek’s entire pack came piling into the corridor. Stiles hung back, feeling slightly awkward, as they hugged and scented each other. Derek’s face lit up when he pulled Cora close, burying his face in her hair. Stiles felt a tiny pang of jealousy, which was ridiculous considering she was Derek’s sister. But now that he had been on the receiving end of Derek’s affection, he couldn’t help it. He looked away and tried to get his emotions in check.

And then Erica was pulling away from the group and walking up to Stiles. Before he could open his mouth to say anything to her, she pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. “Thanks for looking after our Alpha,” she said into his ear.

He hugged back, shocked at her attention. “It was nothing, really.”

Erica shoved his shoulder hard enough that he staggered. “In the past two days, whenever Derek’s messaged us, he’s done nothing but talk about you.”

Stiles felt himself flush, and he laughed uncomfortably. “I’m sure that’s not true.”

Erica eyed him speculatively and then shrugged. “Whatever you say.” 

Stiles cleared his throat and looked to Derek. He was still engrossed in talking with the rest of his pack. Stiles looked to Erica and said, “I’m just going to see if Scott needs help. You guys can feel free to use the lounge.”

Erica nodded in acknowledgement, and Stiles bowed out, heading for the cockpit, wanting to give Derek privacy as he caught up with his pack.

~~~~

When he got to the cockpit, Stiles relieved Scott and then slumped in his chair to monitor the status displays. He looked up thirty minutes later when the hatch opened, and Derek walked in holding Neeko.

He dropped into Scott’s seat. “You disappeared,” Derek said, stroking Neeko’s head while she chirruped.

“Didn’t want to get in the way,” Stiles said, avoiding Derek’s gaze. “You were pretty wrapped up in your pack.” 

Derek put his fingers under Stiles’ chin and turned his head up. “That was nice of you to give us space.” He paused, like he was searching for words. “But you’re important to me too.”

Stiles couldn’t help it. He felt relief warming his stomach.

“Anyway, I spoke to my crew, and they’re in on going after the Alphas,If you and Scott are interested in helping us.”

“We are so there,” Stiles said, his voice tight with anger. “I’d love to get back at these guys. Not just for stealing our cargo, but for almost killing my best friend.”

Derek didn’t seem surprised by his answer. He pulled a data pad out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Stiles. “These are the coordinates of their base. It’s about three days from here.”

Stiles reached out and took the pad, inputting the coordinates to navigation. “You want to get moving right away?” 

“I was hoping you’d say that, yeah.” He pulled out his comm and said, “Erica? We’re ready when you are.”

Stiles looked sideways at him. “You’re staying on board?” 

“I figured Scott could still use some last minute help before we engage the Alphas,” Derek said, nonchalant. His ears turned red and he looked sheepish, not meeting Stiles’ eyes. 

_**“You boys are adorable.”**_ Erica’s voice came over the speaker and Derek cursed when he realized he hadn’t disconnected. 

“Just go to light speed, will you?” He barked into the comm.

 _ **“You got it, boss!”**_ She chirped and then the ship shot off.

“Here goes nothing,” Stiles said, punching the controls and following them into hyperspace.

~~~~

The three days to the base went quickly. Derek and Scott worked on hand-to-hand combat, the comm channel was almost constantly open as the two crews worked on a tactical plan, and Stiles spent hours going over every system to make sure the Morning Star was running at peak efficiency.

“You’re sure this is going to work?” Stiles asked, his comm propped on the console in front of him.

 _ **“We’ve used this modifications for a year now,”**_ Boyd answered, his voice certain. **_“By reconfiguring your exhaust ports, you can use them to help mask the energy signatures produced by your ship.”_**

“So we can land on the planet without the Alphas noticing,” Stiles finished.

 _ **“Exactly.”**_ Boyd replied. _**“How’s it coming?”**_

Stiles doubled checked the power distribution on his screen and inputted the last few changes. “That should be it. Bringing the modifications online… now.” His eyes tracked the status displays. “What are your sensors showing?”

 ** _“It’s working,”_** Boyd said, laughing. _**“You’re registering as nothing more than large amounts of trace elements on basic scans. Unless they know what they’re looking for, the Alpha’s won’t see us coming.”**_

“That’s amazing!” Stiles said, pumping his fist in the air. He dropped it when he realized no one was actually there to see him. “Thanks for this, Boyd.”

 _ **“No trouble at all,”**_ Boyd replied, before cutting the channel.

“We are so going to pull this off,” Stiles said patting the console affectionately.

~~~~

Stiles sat in the small dining area across from Derek, the two of them sharing a ration pack. Every few bites, Stiles passed a small chunk to Neeko, who devoured it noisily. “So,” he said, munching, “not long now.”

Derek finished chewing and swallowed his bite of food. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

Stiles stopped mid-chew. He didn’t like the sound of that. Or the way Derek wasn’t meeting his eyes. “What about?” 

“I’ve been talking with my crew, and Scott. And we think it would be best if you hung behind with the ships once we land.” Derek held out another piece of food to Neeko, who took it and squeaked happily.

“Excuse me?” Stiles asked, incredulous. “I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

Derek sighed. “Stiles…”

Stiles held up his hand. “Just… tell me why.”

Derek reached out his hand and took Stiles’. “The Alphas. They’re extremely dangerous. My crew and I… we can heal from the damage they do.” He squeezed Stiles’ hand. “You would be vulnerable.”

Stiles looked down at their clasped hands, before yanking his back. “So, I’m a liability,” he snapped. “Don’t you think I can take care of myself?”

Derek sighed. “I never said you couldn’t, but the bottom line is we have more strength, speed and the ability to heal.” He tapped his fingers on the table. “Scott agrees with me.”

Stiles’ eyes narrowed. He stood up and held his arm out for Neeko. She jumped on him and he wheeled around, stomping to the cockpit. He went through the door and Scott whirled on him. “We’re approaching the planet.”

“Yeah, that’s great,” Stiles snapped. “What’s this about leaving me behind with the ships?” Scott’s face turned red and his mouth started working soundlessly. “Great,” Stiles said peevishly.

“We just think it’d be safer! I don’t want what happened to me to happen to you.”

Stiles opened his mouth to argue, but stopped. The look on Scott’s face was so earnest and sincere; he couldn’t stay mad at him. He dropped into his seat. “Fine. You win.”

~~~~

Stiles sat just outside the ship, feet dangling off the ramp. His fingers drummed an anxious beat against his thigh as he waited. It had been fifteen minutes since the two crews disappeared into the jungle, heading for the Alpha’s base. The night was calm, the air oppressively humid, and the only sounds were the chorusing of insects.

He felt jittery and on edge, helpless to do anything but wait for a call. As if that thought had been heard, his comm suddenly crackled. The voice came through distorted and garbled, but the tone was clearly panicked.

_**“Stiles… need...way…”** _

Stiles fumbled the comm up to his mouth. “I didn’t catch that, please repeat.”

**_“Stiles… please...your…”_ **

He waited, but nothing else came through the comm. His heart rate started to ramp up in panic, and he scrambled to his feet, shoving his comm into the pocket of his jacket. He checked that his weapon had a charge and pulled up his handheld sensor, moving into the jungle in the direction the crews had gone.

Almost immediately, he lost sight of the ship as the foliage closed in around him. Large leaves slapped wetly against his arms and legs. His clothes quickly stuck to him from the humidity. The sound of his breathing was deafening to his ears, but he could hear faint snarls and cries of pain. 

Suddenly, the jungle around him fell completely silent. The insects ceased their constant background noise, leaving a hushed, expectant air. Stiles froze, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. He started to pull his weapon upright when he heard a low growling from behind him. As he started to swing around, he was struck by a heavy weight and he sprawled face down on the ground. Before he could even roll over, Stiles was yanked to his feet and slammed into the trunk of a tree. The wind was knocked out of him and he gasped, unable to get enough air. His eyes swam with tears, and Stiles could only vaguely make out a large, heavily muscled man standing in front of him. The man’s eyes gleamed red in the darkness, and Stiles felt his heart skip a beat in fear. 

“You made a mistake, kid,” the man growled through his fangs. “And now you’re going to pay for it.” The man raised his clawed hand and Stiles flinched. Before the shifter’s hand moved, there was a loud screech and a small blur of fur came rocketing out of the darkness. Stiles watched, stunned, as Neeko scrambled up and grabbed the man’s face, her long fingers digging into his eyes. The man roared in surprise and pain, dropping Stiles’ and grabbing for the tiny animal. 

Stiles slid down the trunk, coughing and gasping, his heart racing in fear. “Neeko!” he choked, but she was hissing and screeching too loudly to hear him. Stiles could see dark runners of blood dripping down the man’s cheeks from where she was tearing at his eyes. The man grabbed her and tore her off his head, dwarfing her in his huge hands. He started to twist her body and she screamed shrilly. Stiles’ scrabbled frantically for his weapon and felt his hand close on the cool metal. “No!” he yelled, bringing the weapon up and firing. The man dropped Neeko at once and staggered blindly for a few steps before falling facedown onto the ground.

Stiles dropped the hand holding the weapon, his chest heaving from exertion and adrenaline. He crawled over to Neeko, his eyes filled with tears. She was huddled on her side, shaking. He picked her up and she looked at him with wide eyes. “You saved me,” he said quietly. “Thank you, thank you.” She was still quivering, so he pulled her in close against his chest. She immediately latched onto his shirt, her long fingers twisting in the material. He stroked her head and sat back down on the ground, feeling dazed. 

The Alpha hadn’t moved and Stiles could smell the odor of charred flesh. His shot had hit the man right in the face, and Stiles doubted he would be able to heal from that. So Stiles just sat there, staring and stroking Neeko. He realized he was probably in shock, but he couldn’t bring himself to move just yet. He only vaguely registered that the sounds of violence had stopped several minutes earlier.

After what seemed like an age, Stiles heard his name being called. “Over here,” he called out, his voice rough. And then Derek was there, pushing his way through the foliage. 

Derek froze, taking in Stiles cuddling Neeko and the dead Alpha on the ground.

“He attacked me,” Stiles said weakly. “Neeko saved me, and then I killed him.”

Derek’s mouth hung open slightly. He kept looking from Stiles’ to the Alpha. After a minute he seemed to get a hold of himself and hurried to Stiles, holding out his hand to pull Stiles to his feet. Once Stiles was standing, Derek pulled him into a tight hug and Neeko squeaked, but didn’t try to wriggle out of Stiles’ arms.

“Is everybody okay?” Stiles mumbled into Derek’s shoulder.

“Everyone's fine," Derek replied, his hand coming up to cup the back of Stiles' head gently. "We killed their leader, a shifter named Deucalion. After that, they scattered. I guess it was enough to take the fight out of them." He pulled back from the hug, squeezing Stiles' shoulder. "Why don't you come with me while we check out their base, see what they've got stashed."

"Okay," Stiles said, taking deep breaths and fighting to keep his voice steady. Both his and Neeko's heart rates had calmed considerably, and she had finally stopped shaking. He stroked her fur gently and followed Derek through the jungle.

~~~~

After exploring the Alpha’s base, they were pleased to discover not only the stolen shipment, but enough cargo to stuff both their holds to capacity. 

They also found some bottles of Peroken ale, and Erica insisted they go back to the _Triskele_ to celebrate.

Derek's ship was much larger and sleeker, with plenty of room for everyone to fit in the dining area with room to spare, and the air was soon filled with loud conversation and laughter. Stiles couldn’t quite get in the mood though, and only had a single glass.

Neeko had abandoned him for Erica after she fed her a sweet, the traitor, Scott was intense conversation with Kira, and Derek was jumping from crew member to crew member to talk, so Stiles excused himself to head back to the _Morning Star._

He flopped onto his bunk, but he’d only been lying there for labout five minutes when the door slid open, revealing Derek. 

"What's up?" Stiles asked quietly. He felt a pang of guilt at the worried look on Derek’s face and tried gamely to smile.

Derek walked into the cabin and sat down on the edge of Stiles' bunk, curling his fingers around Stiles' ankle. "Just wanted to make sure you're okay," he said.

Stiles rubbed his hands over his face and swung his legs over the edge of the bunk so that his thigh pressed against Derek’s "I don't know. Tonight was a lot to handle. I mean, intellectually, I know that when we get into firefights with other ships, it's a life threatening situation, but I've never looked into someone's eyes as they threatened to kill me." He struggled for words. "It just felt so... personal."

Derek put his arm around Stiles' shoulder. "I know. It never take gets easier to take."

Stiles leaned his head on Derek's shoulder and sighed happily when Derek buried his face in Stiles' hair.

"You scared the hell out of me tonight, you know, " Derek murmured.

"You care that much?" Stiles, asked, his heart suddenly picking up at the possibility.

"I do." 

Derek’s voice was matter of fact, and Stiles smiled for the first time that night, pressing himself closer to Derek's warmth.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" Stiles asked tentatively.

"I was hoping you'd ask," Derek said, and Stiles could feel him smiling against his hair.

~~~~

Stiles blinked awake slowly and tried moving, only to realize Derek had an iron grip around his waist. Stiles was draped over the top of Derek's chest, slightly sweaty where their bare skin was pressed together. He craned his neck and checked the status display, but saw he'd only been asleep for three hours. He laid his cheek back down and dragged his fingers idly through the hairs on Derek's chest.

Stiles circled one of his fingers around Derek's nipple. He watched, pleased, as it drew up tight in response, eliciting a sigh from Derek.. Encouraged, Stiles leaned forward and flicked the nipple with his tongue before closing his lips around it and starting to suck.

Derek groaned deep in his chest and brought a hand up to rest lightly on the back of Stiles' head. Stiles closed his teeth on Dereks nipple and gently bit, making him gasp. He pulled off with a tiny wet noise and rested his chin on Derek's chest, meeting his now open eyes. Derek's gaze was more than a little heated and Stiles felt his stomach flutter in response.

“Hey,” Stiles whispered.

“Hey,” Derek said back, scratching his fingers through Stiles’ hair. 

Stiles hummed and closed his eyes, squirming his body until he was straddling Derek’s hips. He bent down and met Derek’s lips, kissing him deeply. 

Derek held Stiles tightly, running a hand down to cup the swell of his ass, and Stiles moaned into Derek’s mouth, flexing his hips and grinding his rapidly swelling dick against Derek’s.

Stiles groaned again as the tips of Derek’s fingers dipped beneath the waistband of his underwear, ghosting between his cheeks. 

“We don’t have to,” Derek said against his lips, “but I _want_...”

Stiles pressed back harder against Derek’s hands. “I want that too,” he said breathlessly. He reached his hands back and pushed his underwear down until they were under his ass, the combination of cool air and Derek’s hands on him making him shudder. Stiles reached up to the recessed compartments above his bunk and came back with a tin of ointment. He flipped the lid off and dropped it onto the bed next to them. Derek dipped two of his fingers into the tin and brought them up shining with slick. Stiles’ breath quickened in anticipation and he couldn’t still the motion of his hips. 

Derek used one of his hands to press at the small of Stiles’ back to hold him steady and brought the other hand to the cleft of Stiles’ buttocks, sliding the fingers up and down his crack. Stiles whined, “Derek, please,” and then gasped as one thick finger slid smoothly into his body. He dropped his head to Derek’s shoulder and sighed. 

Derek held Stiles close the entire time he was prepping him, something Stiles wasn’t used to. The whole encounter was something new and different, and Stiles felt emotions welling up in him unbidden. By this time Derek had three fingers moving steadily in and out of Stiles’ hole and Stiles could feel his legs shaking from holding still. 

“Derek, I’m ready,” he panted, and Derek pressed a kiss to the side of his neck, before drawing his fingers out. Stiles sat back up and shimmied his underwear the rest of the way off his legs as Derek did the same, before lying back and holding onto Stiles’ hips. 

Stiles reached underneath himself and held Derek’s cock steady before sinking down onto it, biting his lip at the stretch. Derek arched his neck back, pressing his head into the pillow as Stiles seated himself completely on his lap. They waited for a moment, adjusting, their breathing the only sound to be heard. After a moment, Stiles planted his hands on Derek’s chest and started slowly moving. 

Derek’s breath punched out of him as he said, “Stiles, you feel amazing.”

“So do you,” Stiles replied, the thick length of Derek’s cock setting his nerves on fire. Suddenly, Derek surged up until he was sitting, looping a hand around Stiles’ neck and pressing their lips together. Stiles whimpered into his mouth, the angle changing and causing pleasure to shoot up his spine. Derek slid his arms around Stiles and encouraged him to wrap his legs around his waist and hey rocked together, lips meeting frequently.

Stiles had never had sex quite like this, every movement gentle. The pleasure dragging out into a slow build that he thought would drive him crazy, and at the same time he didn’t want it to end. His cock was leaking steadily, pressed between their stomachs, making the glide hot and smooth. 

Derek pulled back and looked into Stiles’ eyes, and Stiles squirmed at the intensity. Stiles could only meet his gaze for a few moments before he buried his face in Derek’s neck, his arms around Derek’s back, fingers digging into the muscles. 

Derek moved one of his hands back to Stiles’ hips, and the other he worked in between their bodies, so he could curl his fingers around Stiles’ cock. Stiles let out a noise close to a sob, his hips moving quicker as he chased completion. 

Derek, who had mostly been quiet up until that point, must have sensed the urgency because praise and encouragement started pouring out of his mouth. “Yes, Stiles, you feel so good. You’re making me feel so good. “ He twisted his hand, rubbing his thumb over the head of Stiles’ cock. “I’m almost there, I want you to come with me, please, Stiles.”

Stiles gasped and panted into Derek’s neck, the pleasure overwhelming him. “Derek,” he whined before shooting off between them, the come smearing between their chests and stomachs. Derek surged up twice more before Stiles felt him spasm, flooding him with his own come. 

Stiles went limp and his hands dragged weakly over Derek’s back, stroking the sweat-slicked skin. He had no desire to ever move again. 

Derek petted his hair, and his voice was rough as he murmured about how good Stiles made him feel.

Stiles flushed with pleasure at the praise. “You’re kind of incredible too,” Stiles said against his neck. 

“So was this,” Derek replied, rubbing his stubbled cheek against Stiles. “I couldn’t have asked for a better last night on this ship.”

Stiles’ stomach dropped. He’d known Derek would have to go back to the _Triskele_ eventually, of course he had, but knowing that it would happen so soon left him feeling a bit hollow and lonely. He pushed the thought out of his mind though, and resolved to just stay here in the afterglow, soaking up every bit of this moment, before Derek left him.

~~~~

Stiles rolled over in his bunk and groaned, the pallet still warm where Derek had been lying. He opened his eyes to find Derek sitting in his chair, lacing his boots. 

Stiles groaned. “Why are you dressed? Clothes are bad. Very bad.”

Derek snorted to himself and walked over to Stiles, bending over to press a kiss to his lips.  
“Cora called. Scott’s been helping the others divvy up the cargo between our ships. They’re ready to go.”

Stiles frowned a little, and when Derek noticed it, he pulled Stiles’ hand to his mouth and kissed the tender skin inside his wrist. 

“I’ve been thinking,” he murmured. “Maybe it might not be a bad idea if our ships travel together to Darakis. And... maybe, after that too?” 

Stiles felt his lips quirking up and he cleared his throat. “Not a bad idea,” he said, feigning nonchalance. “Two ships are better than one, right?”

“Oh, definitely,” Derek agreed seriously, the corners of his mouth quirking upwards. “Why don’t you get dressed and we’ll talk later. I’ve got to head back to my ship.”

Stiles pouted and brought Derek down for another kiss. Derek groaned into it, holding Stiles’ face in his hands. He pulled away and rested their foreheads together for a moment before standing up, still holding Stiles’ hand. He squeezed it once and headed for the door, looking fondly at Stiles over his shoulder before the hatch hissed closed behind him.

Stiles rolled onto his back before sitting up to looking for his clothes, mind racing with thoughts of the future, which seemed full of possibilities.

~~~~

“How we doing, Scotty?” Stiles asked as he entered the cockpit, Neeko chirping in delight when she saw him. She leaped from Scott’s shoulder into his arms and he gave her a scratch before she scaled his shirt, twining her tail around his neck.

“Our hold is loaded down with supplies. The rebellion isn’t going to know what to do with everything,” Scott said happily. 

“I’ll be sure to send Lydia a very large thank you present,” Stiles commented, settling into his seat.

The comm chirped signalling an incoming transmission. Stiles hit the button and Erica’s voice filled the cockpit.

_**”You boys ready?”** _

“You know it,” Stiles said, looking gleefully at Scott.

_**”I’ll bet you a hundred credits our ship can reach the system first.”** _

Stiles’ snorted, “Oh, you’re on.” Stiles could hear a scuffle coming through the comm, Derek’s voice in the background sounding grumpy.

 _ **”Fine,”**_ Erica huffed. _**“Your boyfriend’s angry I’m hogging the comm.”**_

At her words, Scott laughed knowingly and Stiles punched him in the arm. Derek’s voice came over the comm.

_**“I just wanted to thank you both for your help.”** _

“We’re the ones who should be thanking you. I owe you my life, and I won’t forget that.”

_**“I’m glad it all worked out.”** _

“We are too, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to beat your asses to Darakis.”

Derek laughed heartily. _**“Big words,”**_ he said, the challenge unmistakeable.

Stiles felt the rumbling as the _Triskele_ fired their engines and started lifting off the ground, before they’d even started to get their own engines engaged.

_**“You’ll have to catch us first.”** _

Stiles’ jaw dropped and he and Scott flailed for the controls. “You can count on it,” Stiles said into the comm, and he disconnected to Derek laughing again.

He looked sideways at Scott and clapped him on the shoulder. “We got this, right Scotty?”

Scott grinned at him. “Always.” 

Neeko chittered in agreement as the _Morning Star_ lifted off and followed the _Triskele_ to the stars.


End file.
